By Christine Schaefer | Daily Reporter
GREENFIELD — When artist Rachel Holmes read the Santa letter, she felt she had to help.
It read: Dear Santa, All I want for Christmas is my dog back because she died. I also want a stuffed animal of her. From, Hadley.
“It just really called to me,” Holmes said. “A lot of the Santa letters this year seemed to be a little glum. That one really resonated with me because I am a huge animal lover, and I can only imagine how I would feel in that position.”
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
Holmes reached out to the paper where the letters had been printed. A Daily Reporter staff member contacted Amy McCleery, Hadley’s first grade teacher at Mt. Comfort Elementary. McCleery contacted Hadley’s mom, Sonya Lechner, who eventually made contact with Holmes.
Holmes had done a fair amount of pet portrait commission work and wanted to gift Hadley with a painting of her dog, Jager, as a surprise Christmas gift. And Sonya Lechner was delighted.
Jager, the Lechner family dog, was a 13-year-old black Labrador Retriever who had passed in August. Lechner’s husband Chris had her since she was a two-month old pup.
“She loved oranges,” Sonya Lechner said, remembering Jager’s penchant for fruits and vegetables. “She would go out in the garden and eat all the cherry tomatoes. She just loved food.”
Holmes had wanted to just drop by and leave the painting at the house, but Lechner wouldn’t hear of it.
“My husband and I said no, we want our kids to meet you,” Lechner said. “We want them to know that there are people in the world who would do something nice just out of the goodness of their hearts.”
So Holmes brought the ink and watercolor painting by just before Christmas.
“She was really sweet,” Holmes said. “She opened it with Mom and Dad right there with her, and she just had a big old smile on her face.”
McCleery was happy to be a part of the process.
“This whole thing has been such a great example for the kids. In the classroom, we talk a lot about having good character traits,” McCleery said. “The kids have seen firsthand what it means to be caring, compassionate and generous. On a personal level, I truly did appreciate the way this artist used her talents to do something good for someone else.”
The Lechners have brought a new puppy into the family — another black Lab named Oakley — but Jager’s portrait and her ashes create a memorial on a table in the living room. Gone, but not forgotten.
“She was the best girl ever,” Hadley said.
